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Category Archives: Montreal

Sorry if I’ve not really been here these past few weeks. The truth is each time I think of writing something in the blog, something else comes up. And the bigger truth is, that we are going through pretty intense moments as we are preparing to move back to France. After more than 10 years, and 11 winters in Canada. This was our last. I made sure to capture the last few days of snow in our garden, because we are saying goodbye to the snow, goodbye to our lovely little house, and goodbye to many good friends.

It is a mixture of joy and sadness, of excitement and anxiety. I went through weeks of waking up every night, thinking: where are we going to live? Will we be able to find a job? Will the kids go to a nice school? Will my son get the support and care he needs at his new school? And on, and on, until I either managed to shut my brain down, or got up to watch an old Downtown Abbey episode. All the while working to build up my new career as a freelancer (more on that…one day). To-do lists help, and everytime I cross something out, even a simple email, it feels like a small victory. Even if a couple more items get added every day.

So here it is. I sort of held back, but now that we’re two months away, it is time to tell you. Knitting projects are not down the drain, in fact there was quite a lot going on (sleepless nights helped). I simply haven’t had time to take proper pictures yet, that’s all. I hope I will be able to soon.

In the meantime, I decided to let go of the monthly recaps – even though I still read my favorite knitting blogs and follows what’s new in the knitting world, my heart is not in it right now. I’m sure you’ll understand. I’ll let you know how things go.

Instead of diving my neckline by 3, I worked one small section at a time, picking up 11 or 12 stitches per section. It worked much better than the first time, except that, despite counting and re-counting several times, I could not manage to get my 153 stitches. I settled for 155, the only number that came twice in a row. I really used all of my yarn, all I have left are a few strands for a tiny repair should it be needed.Cette fois-ci, au lieu de diviser l’encolure par 3, j’ai divisé le travail en petites sections, en remontant 11 à 12 mailles à chaque fois. Cela a été beaucoup plus facile et bien mieux équilibré, sauf qu’en comptant et recomptant je n’arrivais pas à mes 153 mailles. J’ai finalement gardé 155 mailles, le seul chiffre qui est sorti deux fois de suite. J’ai vraiment utilisé tout mon fil, il ne me reste que quelques bouts au cas où j’ai besoin de faire une micro-réparation.

When La Maison Tricotée, one of the loveliest yarn stores in Montréal, announced they were organizing a 5 to 7 with Julie Asselin, I knew I had to go there and meet her at last. You see, I had known for weeks that we had friends in common and I wanted to introduce myself. So last Friday, I found my way to the charming store, which was already quite full even before 5pm.Quand La Maison Tricotée, une des plus jolies boutiques de laine de Montréal, a annoncé la tenue d’un 5 à 7 avec Julie Asselin, j’ai su que je devais absolument y aller pour la rencontrer enfin. Je savais depuis plusieurs semaines que nous avions des amies en commun et je voulais me présenter. Ainsi vendredi dernier, je me suis rendue à la charmante boutique, qui était déjà bien remplie avant 17 heures.

And she is as lovely as her smile. We did not have time to chat long, they were too many people around. She greeted everyone as if they were friends, answering questions, looking at projects they were working on or suggesting yarns for patterns. It was busy, a bit chaotic, and very friendly. There were knitters young and old, moms and babies, and we were all eager to discover the yarns.Elle est aussi sympathique que son sourire. Nous n’avons pas eu le temps de trop discuter, il y avait trop de monde. Elle a accueilli tout le monde comme si c’était des amis, répondant aux questions, prenant le temps de regarder les différents projets en cours et de suggérer les meilleures laines de sa gamme pour tel ou tel patron. C’était bruyant, un peu chaotique et très sympa. Il y avait des tricoteuses jeunes et moins jeunes, des mamans avec des bébés, et nous avions toutes hâte de découvrir les laines.

On top of Merletto, there were other selections of beautiful yarns in gorgeous purples and pinks, solid or variegated like this mouth-watering Shortcake below, as well a new yarn line called Nurtured.En plus de Merletto il y avait plein d’autres choix de beaux fils chaussettes dans de magnifiques teintes de rose and mauves, solides ou bien variées comme l’appétissant Shortcake, ci-dessous, ainsi qu’une nouvelle ligne de fils appelée Nurtured.

The knitting these days is as confusing as the weather. Seriously these last two weeks in Montreal have been insane. Hot, then brutally cold, then mild and humid, then cool and rainy, then cold again, and now we’re supposed to have a summer spell in the next few days, up to 30° Celsius. It was 4° Celsius last Friday morning, and half of the family has a cold. I took the mittens out and now realize I probably started storing my summer sandals too quickly.

So on the knitting side, it’s been the same confusion. i just finished a summer top, which I packed thinking I would not wear it until next year; it turns out I actually might be able to wear it this week-end. I also finished a Vogue Knitting sweater from the Pre-Fall 2013 edition, a no-sleeve tunic with a big rounded collar, the kind of schizophrenic sweater that leaves your arms freezing cold and your neck boiling hot. And I started a neck warmer in bulky warm wool because hey, it’s been pretty cold walking around in the autumn wind. It’s all over the place.
Summer, autumn, winter, up and down, up and down the thermometer goes and I still have a cotton lacy sweater to finish, with sleeves. Which is probably the best transition piece, except there are no transitions here. It’s a bit crazy, but hey, at least it’s not snowing yet, so I cannot complain too much (and my heart goes to the folks in Calgary who had their first snow on September 8 – ouch). Just upping my vitamins intake to make sure I don’t get too sick on this crazy meteorological roundabout. I still have time to get started on my winter knitting.

Pictures in a following post. Just a preview of my neck warmer and the warm colors of the yarn (Mountain Fusion Teton, Summer colorway).